Yeah, that day…… Sidney walked and walked as if trying to get one step further away from the castle.
But at the edge of the wilderness, she collapsed with a short scream. She was bitten on the ankle by a red scorpion.
Even as she writhed in pain, giggles escaped her lips.
Because she could die.
Because she could escape the harsh sword training, her father’s discipline, and the pressure weighing down on her.
The child, like her past self…… cried in pain but laughed, relishing the sense of liberation.
She turned around, following the sound of horse whinnies and the vigorous sound of hooves.
The wind blew from all directions, making the weeds sway like waves, and a group of horses were running towards her.
The blonde young man riding at the front raised his hand and shouted.
“There’s someone there! Everyone scatter!”
The horses reared up on their front legs, neighing loudly as they changed direction.
The young man who jumped off his horse first was Justin Owello, and the girl who reached out and embraced him was Victoria.
“Brother?”
“Vicky, just a moment.”
Justin Owello put down his reluctant sister and pulled out a dagger from his waist.
Then he knelt down, tore young Sidney’s pants, and made an incision on her swollen ankle.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he repeatedly sucked out the venom from the wound and spat it out.
After finishing the emergency treatment, Justin picked up young Victoria and stood up.
“I will take this child back to the villa!”
At his command, the knights moved in perfect unison. And they returned the way they came, kicking up dust.
God only gives humans as much pain as they can bear. It means that with will, one can overcome any hardship and adversity.
For the first time, the day she let go of everything and chose death as her resting place.
She gained a friend who liked her for who she was.
[This is the timeline separator]Ding, ding,…… As the temple bell rang for the eighth time, Logan Redford buttoned his shirt and turned his gaze out the window.
Logan standing alongside the morning sunlight slanting through the window. Beside him, Milo, the attendant holding a dark gray jacket, spoke.
“The coachman dropped off Inspector Warden at 34 Mayfield Avenue.”
The moment he heard the address, Logan furrowed his brow.
Because Sidney had gone to see Victoria Owello as soon as she woke up, despite all the trouble he went through to clear her schedule on her day off.
Logan thrust one arm into the jacket and asked.
“The dressing room?”
“Yvonne Boutique, booked for 1 p.m., they said.”
“Send a carriage and escort knights on time.”
“Yes, sir.”
Knock knock, Raon Lind opened the door and entered. With a haggard face from being scolded by Logan these past few days, he said.
“The Marquis demands that you come to the main residence at once.”
“The business plan?”
“I prepared it as you instructed, but……”
Logan slowly turned around while adjusting his attire. His slightly raised chin and downward gaze were arrogant, as if daring him to say something.
An average person would have been intimidated, but perhaps due to the years he had endured by Douglas Redford’s side, Raon Lind squared his shoulders and calmly continued.
“No matter how much I think about it. As the heir, to prove your qualifications, I think it would be better to take charge of a business with a good public image.”
“Everyone trembles before the Redford’s wealth, while ridiculing us as vile and despicable loan sharks behind our backs.”
The ancestor of the Redford family, Lionel Redford, was the son of a loan shark.
In other words, he grew up watching those who borrowed money with all sorts of flattery turn around and put on airs with their status.
To obtain status and power, Lionel Redford took up a sword and headed to the battlefield.
It was a matter of hundreds of years ago. But the Redford family still secretly continued the money lending business to this day. And now he was going to bring it to the forefront.
Raon Lind clenched his fists and tried to persuade him again.
“That’s what I’m saying. If Lord Logan starts with a loan shark business……”
“The investment company I establish will bring enormous profits to the clients. No one who takes that money will dare run their mouth.”
They would no longer be able to run their mouths. It would be like spitting on their own faces.
If it came to that, not only his grandfather, Marquis Douglas Redford, but also the retainers would have no choice but to acknowledge Logan.
But this was just a pretext to convince them. Logan had no intention of going through such a hassle.
“You’re not even considering failure.”
On the day the long war ended, everyone celebrated the victory, drunk on alcohol.
Feeling suffocated, he walked along the collapsed castle walls and met Sidney Warden.
Sitting next to her, looking down at the ruined village, waiting for morning……
A silly remark made under the influence of alcohol, immersed in the sentimentality of dawn. But her face, with her head bowed, was contorted as if in agony.
If he could fulfill that wish……. Logan grinned, imagining a delighted Sidney.
“War itself is gruesome, but the aftermath is even more devastating. But humans stubbornly get back up. In that process, those who have lose everything, and some seize the opportunity.”
“The virtuous cycle of the economy! Gathering the money of the Arsenal Empire and investing it in the reconstruction of the Anes Kingdom.”
Money was just money. Why did everyone attach some meaning to it? Logan passed by Raon Lind, who was beaming, and muttered to himself as if making a vow.
“No matter what, there mustn’t be any more wars.”
[This is the timeline separator]Waking up from the dream, one question came to mind.
Why did the Owello siblings hide the fact that she was a girl, why did they let it slide so nonchalantly, and how did Anthony come to get her…… She was curious.
But when actually in front of Victoria Owello, the words didn’t easily leave her mouth.
So she first unraveled the stories between herself and Logan Redford. When the topic of marriage came up, Victoria asked in astonishment.
“Wait, Sidney. So you’re saying…… Duke Redford is using the fact that you’re a woman to force you into marriage.”
“Not force, it was a not bad, quite decent proposal for me. Like now, we would continue on…… and occasionally, only when necessary, I would become the Commander’s wife.”
She hoped there would be no misunderstanding. So she added an explanation, but Victoria tilted her head slightly, rested her chin on her hand, and said.
“If you only act as his wife when necessary…… is it like a contract marriage? Did he not say anything about divorcing after a year or two?”
“What?”
“It happens a lot in novels. And sometimes they actually fall in love…… My preference is when the man uses contract marriage to tie down the woman he likes. Duke Redford seems to be the latter……”
As expected, those damn novels were the problem. Sidney shook her head and interrupted.
“Vicky, that’s only possible in novels.”
“No, I’m not saying this without basis. Before, when you collapsed, Duke Redford……”
What was she imagining? Sidney pressed her temples and rolled her eyes up. Unable to listen any longer, she lowered her voice.
“Victoria Owello.”
“Okay, I’ll stop. But what about you?”
“……?”
What did she mean now? Victoria asked again with a serious face.
“Are you okay with that kind of marriage?”
“He’s someone I can trust.”
She brought the teacup to her lips.
As she savored the fragrant tea and moistened her lips, Victoria pouted and grumbled.
“You said before not to trust people recklessly.”
That’s right. Where did this confidence come from that Logan Redford and Steve DeNiro would keep her secret?
Perhaps during the 12 years, long as they were, there was no guarantee that Victoria and they would be the same……
Victoria, who was elegantly tilting her teacup, raised an eyebrow slightly as if to ask why she was looking at her like that. Sidney surveyed her friend’s expression and brought up the story she had been meaning to tell.
“Vicky, do you remember when we first met?”
Victoria startled. But she quickly composed herself and slowly set down her teacup.
She lowered her eyes for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.
“How could I forget? It was a time I spent with the two people I love most. But why did you bring that up?”
“I had a dream. When I woke up, I wondered. Why you and Justin didn’t ask me anything.”
“Ah, you didn’t know. Your brother explained your situation and asked us to keep it a secret.”
At that time, Anthony’s health had deteriorated, so he didn’t leave Warden Castle. Yet he traveled a distance that took at least two hours by horse from Warden Castle.
Sidney muttered with a look of disbelief.
“How did Anthony get there……”
“He came in a carriage with a doctor. I heard later that Anthony had asked the local doctors to take him with them when they went to remote areas. Come to think of it, the Warden siblings, including Emilia, all seem to be smart.”
Victoria turned her gaze out the window and laughed awkwardly.
In the awkward atmosphere where it seemed she shouldn’t answer or ask more, she could only guess.
Anthony Warden, who had overexerted himself to come a long way, must have collapsed, and gained the sympathy of the Owello siblings with his pitiful circumstances.
She just thought it might have been like that……
[This is the timeline separator]In the capital of the Arsenal Empire, Marseille, District 5 was a bustling area.
The shops lining both sides of the long Thierry Avenue were overflowing with all sorts of rare items imported from abroad.
Who would have imagined? Just two years ago, the shops on Thierry Avenue secretly traded necessities and supplies smuggled from the military.
In front of a building that filled its display cases with luxurious dresses, two blonde ladies stood side by side.
The two were wearing dresses adorned with frills and lace, connected to a one-piece coat.
“17 Thierry Avenue.”
As Sidney Warden, her hair elegantly coiled up, muttered, Victoria Owello, standing next to her, glanced at the signboard and added.
“Yvonne Boutique, they don’t even take reservations from just any aristocrat.”
“Is that so?”
“Duke Redford has a good eye for people.”
Victoria linked arms with her amiably as if urging her to go in quickly.
Judging by her expression, which had a hint of gravitas, it somehow sent a chill down her spine.
What could possibly happen from choosing a few dresses? Sidney shook her head once and opened the door.
______
In This Life, I Won’t Be Foolish To Lose You Again (Female-dominant)
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
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